\n Author’s notes:

\n Well, I know it have been a long time since I updated but I have entered the famous writers block. I have the idea in my mind… it is just that I do not have the ‘writing energy’ or spark. Add that to the job I have and I do not have that much time to write as I used to.

\n That is why I had this chapter even before I uploaded the previous one as a backup (just in case) that that I took too long in writing the next chapter.

\n Anyway, I hope that my writers block finishes soon and I am once again inspired to write.

\n Enjoy.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n The Legend of Spyro: Origins_Chapter 30

\n  

\n Spyro was once again training the following morning and it was Terrador the one teaching him. Spyro, along with Cynder, began doing their usual training in the morning, but Spyro kept an eye on the Guardian’s mood. Like before, it was a little bit somber and he seemed to daze of.

\n Gale was somewhere else doing their training, so the arena was solely for their use and it was only a matter of time before Terrador declared a small break. Spyro decided to confront him and tell him of his dream.

\n “Terrador” Spyro said. “Is everything all right?” Spyro began casually.

\n Terrador seemed a little surprised by the sudden question since he was heavily thinking.

\n “Yes, young dragon. Why shouldn’t it be?” Terrador said.

\n “You and the other Guardians seem a little bit distracted these last few days” Spyro pointed out.

\n “I have noticed it too” Cynder declared. “You three seem distracted and sometimes your mind wanders. I can tell that there is something wrong, but I decided to keep quiet about it”

\n “It is nothing… really” Terrador assured them, although both of them could tell that there was something disturbing him.

\n “Terrador… I know that there is something wrong” Spyro told him seriously. “The Chronicler came to me last night and told me things” Terrador looked at him with a studding look. “Terrador, what is happening?”

\n Finally, Terrador sighed in defeat and lowered his head.

\n “The appearance of the Chronicler is said to be the prelude of bad things to happen” Terrador said. “What did he said to you?”

\n “He told me that darkness is growing and it is stronger than ever” Spyro said.

\n “Malefor?” Cynder asked as a tingle of fear coursed through her.

\n “Possibly” Spyro replied.

\n “If that is true, then I fear the things happening are not coincidence”

\n “What things?” Cynder asked,

\n “Over the last weeks, several towns have gone silent” he explained.

\n “When did this happen?” Cynder wished to know.

\n “The first one was over three weeks ago; other soon followed. Just yesterday we received word that another that another village has fallen silent”

\n “Haven’t you sent someone to investigate?” Spyro questioned him.

\n “We have sent some scout parties but they have not returned”

\n “Why not send us?” Spyro asked; feeling a little molested that he had been left.

\n “At first, we were a little bit unconcerned about it when it began. We thought that it must have been something trivial but when the reports started to increase about the number of villages and towns getting silent, we started to worry. To try and keep the citizens calm, we decided not to voice it”

\n “But these villages have fallen silent! We need to know what is happening to its people!” Spyro exclaimed.

\n “That is why; we decided to investigate a little bit to understand more what is really happening. Secret scout parties have been sent. Had we sent you, it would have drawn too much attention. Besides, we were training you” Terrador pointed out.

\n  “When will they arrive?” Cynder asked.

\n “In a few more days” Terrador answered. “Let us hope that they bring good news”

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “So… what do you think?” Ramirez asked expectantly.

\n “Nice design you have here” the mole noted. “It would be strong, flexible and light. Very easy to conceal. But the release mechanism could be a little tricky to make without making the whole more bulky and useless”

\n “So… could you this?” Ramirez asked the mole.

\n The mole looked at the design plans carefully that were atop the table.

\n “It will take some time, but I will manage to get it done” the mole said after a few moments of thought.

\n “Great!” Ramirez exclaimed. “Send word to me when your are finished”

\n “Of course” the mole promised. “So… are we even then?”

\n “Of course” Ramirez replied with a handshake to the small rodent.

\n Ramirez exited the small blacksmith shop after a successful negotiation and stepped into the sunny day. The street was filled with many pedestrian, many of them being moles and dragons. They were either in some errand, shopping or doing their jobs.

\n Ramirez paid them no mind as he continued walking on the streets, hearing everything that was being said; from arguing over prices, to stories old friend were recounting. He also heard some interesting and curious things.

\n He spotted Doctor Kelly walking besides Incendio. Earlier this year, a dragon walking with a human would be something strange sight; but now this seemed normal. It would seem that they are taking a normal walk around the city as they converse about trivial things; but Ramirez had a knack for seeing things others didn’t… and he also felt things.

\n Right now, Ramirez saw and felt something was off about it. Both of these things applied to the situation at hand. THAT… and he was also curious to find out what was off.

\n He had already seen Incendio do strange things when it was Doctor Kelly was concerned. He had seen how the dragon spied Doctor Kelly, waiting for any moment of trouble before he acted.

\n Being Ramirez, he had a reputation to keep from being everywhere and knowing everything that is happening. But he needed to be caution about it and not let them see him.

\n Ramirez let the pair pass him and then he then proceeded to follow them somewhat behind. He followed for a while, but the pair stopped to watch something a merchant mole was offering in his stall. Ramirez immediately hid behind a wall, occasionally peeping to see if they had continued their path.

\n When they did, Ramirez followed. They stopped a few times more to see what was around them, but Ramirez always found a way to hide. Whether it was in a crowd or behind a merchant stall, he went unnoticed by his quarry.

\n Incendio must have felt something at some point, because he turned around and looked in his direction. Ramirez barely managed to hide. After Doctor Kelly noticed Incendio’s reaction and called for him did the dragon start walking again. The pair continued walking and Ramirez followed. Once again, Incendio turned around and Ramirez once again hid behind a dragon statue. He waited for a moment until he deemed safe to look again.

\n ‘He is starting to get uneasy’Ramirez thought as he looked at the dragon from behind.

\n Deciding that trailing them on the streets would cause his detection, he decided on another approach. He looked around and saw a two story house with a balcony on the second floor overlooking the streets.

\n ‘Perfect’he thought.

\n Ramirez waited for a moment until they rounded a corner. He took a quick look to see if he was alone before he made his move.

\n Using his vast experience he had acquired and refined during the years by climbing trees, walls and whatever he could find, he started running at the wall of a house. When he was about to hit it head-first, he jumped and used his legs to run up the wall to gain another meter. He barely managed to grab the ledge balcony before falling down to the street below.

\n He managed to pull himself up and he once again did the same trick and grabbed the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up and, once on the rooftops, he ran after his quarry before he lost them. He climbed few taller building and jumped down to other smaller ones. Never did he decrease his speed, nor did he injure himself. After all, he did this when he was younger.

\n In no time he caught in his sight his prey again. He then started to follow them from the rooftops. Incendio turned back his head several times, obviously feeling someone was watching him. Ramirez laughed under his breath s the dragon tried to find out who was following. After all, who would look up? No one! That was why Ramirez went on the rooftops when he wanted to get around unnoticed.

\n He continued following the pair. He even had to cross the steer by pulling a stunt than nearly made him fall to the ground. After a few minutes of following the pair, they arrived at a small park. Since he would then be exposed if he went down, he decided to stay on top of the house he was standing now. Besides, it gave him a nice view of the park.

\n Not that he need to worry, because his quarry stopped under the shade of a large tree. He saw both Incendio and Doctor Kelly sit down next to each other. Ramirez went prone as he took a set of binoculars from a pocket.

\n “Let’s just take one quick look-see” he said to himself as he watched through the optical device.

\n Ramirez watched from his vantage point for a while as nothing really happened between Doctor Kelly and Incendio.

\n ‘Maybe it was just my imagination’ he guessed in his mind.

\n He was just about to leave when he saw the pair move. Doctor Kelly completely lay down on her back and started sky gazing. As the dragon noticed this, he took also laid down. Both of them rested under the shade that the tree that covered them from the heat the noon sun gave.

\n He kept his vigil over his quarry with new interest. They spend some time in this matter under the shade of the tree and Ramirez began sweating as he lay on under the sun, not moving. However, the sun moved in the sky… and it was only a matter of time when it hit Doctor Kelly in the face.

\n “Whoa!” Ramirez exclaimed in a low voice.

\n When Incendio noticed that she was squinting under the sun ray, Ramirez saw that the dragon opened one of his wings and covered the sun for the good doctor underneath it. The dragon threw a small and shy smile at Doctor Kelly, who murmured a small thanks before trying to doze off.

\n Ramirez crawled closer to the edge as he tried to get a better look. He watched through the binoculars as he waited some more time to confirm his suspicions.

\n It passed some more time and Ramirez could see that Kelly had fallen asleep under the shadow of the dragon’s wing.

\n “I’ll be damned!” he murmured.

\n Apart from the dragon gazing intently at Kelly, Incendio also moved his tail around her. From what he could see, the tail did not touched Kelly; rather, it seemed to be forming a protective barrier around her.

\n Now that Ramirez had seen something, he retreated a bit and sat down to think.

\n From what legends back home used to say, dragon used to be possessive. Still, this dragon behaved differently than the legends of old. Still, he could not ignore the fact that the move seemed to be one of possessiveness. Could it be that this dragon had a protective aura around Doctor Kelly as her father did? Or was it possessiveness? Or both?

\n Ramirez took another quick look through his binoculars and saw Incendio looking at the sleeping Doctor Kelly with a small and tranquil smile. He slowly inched closer to the edge, hoping to get a better view.

\n No…! This thing looked more than possessiveness. It almost looked more like…

\n Ramirez eyes widened in surprise and nearly fell of the roof as he suddenly he had what he was looking for. All pieces falling together neatly. Kelly’s had healed Incendio when he was injured during the siege; then, she had helped him during his depression. She had spent a lot of time for him… but then again, that was Kelly.

\n But that did not explain the dragon. Incendio involvement and his reckless action in the search for the cure of the human’s illness did say a lot. He did not have to do such a thing… yet he did. Incendio did not have any human friend that was close enough… expect for the good doctor.

\n Could this dragon have a crush for Kelly?

\n How disgusting! How unnatural! How pervert!!! How… how…

\n HOW COOL!!!

\n Incendio actually had a crush for Doctor Kelly! Buy most important and funny part about it was that Ramirez could see that Incendio didn’t know he had those deep feelings for her. He just… went along… unconsciously.

\n “Oh, man… I have to get a picture of this” Ramirez mumbled as he searched for the camera he always kept close by when not in combat. When he did not found it, he slapped his forehead. “Oh, right, I left it charging at the base”

\n Not that it matters, he could always spy on them later.

\n After watching the couple for a few more moment, Ramirez decided it was time to go. He needed to see his contact and find out if the scout parties sent by the Guardians to investigate the villages that had fallen silent had returned.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “Are you sure?” Cyril asked.

\n “Yes sir” the green dragon answered.

\n “Not a soul?” Cyril asked with a hopefully.

\n Spyro and Cynder, along with the Guardians, were interviewing the scout parties that had just arrived. The meeting had been decided to be held in the temple. On one side, were the Guardians, asking question after question to the three leaders of the scout parties that were sent.

\n Spyro and Cynder were on the side, listening t the conversation. They had asked the guardians if they could be in the meeting, and they agreed.

\n They had been questioning the scouts for information and news… and they weren’t good.

\n  “The village was completely empty! Not a soul!” the green dragon said with a tone of urgency.

\n “What about bodies? Did you found anything?” Terrador interrupted.

\n “No sir. It looked as if the village was just… simply abandoned”

\n  “What about the other villages? Did you manage to find anything?” Cyril asked another scout leader.

\n “My villagers also seemed to be simply abandoned” the red dragon answered. “Yet we noticed that it looked as if the villagers had left in a hurry. There was food still in plates, teapots over extinguished fired that point out that they left in a hurry”

\n “Any indication, insight or clue as to where they may have gone?” Volteer asked.

\n “We could not find any lead” the red dragon answered.

\n “All of the villages were empty. All of them seemed to be abandoned, except for one”

\n “What about your sector?” Terrador asked at the last blue dragon.

\n “I’m afraid that what my companions say’s applies to my zone as well” he said formally. “Not a soul”

\n “Very well” Terrador sighed. “You are dismissed”

\n The three dragons gave a small bow of their head before standing up and leaving the room. With that, Terrador also stood up and went to the pool of vision, in which they meeting had taken place. When he got there, he started to gaze into the water… as if waiting to see something.

\n “Do you see anything, Terrador?” Volteer asked.

\n “Volteer, you know as well as I that Terrador do not have the ability to see things like Ignitus did” Cyril said.

\n “Yet… I can only hope” Terrador said in a low voice.

\n Ignitus had the ability to see things through starring at the reflective water of the pool of vision. Very few dragons could, according to Ignitus. It required patience and meditation to see anything. Spyro often saw Ignitus starting at the reflective mirror for hour, hoping to see anything that might help him in his quest.

\n Spyro gave a sad sigh as his old friend and mentor was mentioned. Over the time, he had slowly learned to get it over, but it still brought sad emotions and memories.

\n They remained in silence for a few moments, each in their own thoughts.

\n “Terrador, what course of action shall we take now that the scout party have arrived?” Volteer asked.

\n “I do not know” Terrador said gravely. “We may need o send more scout parties to find what is going on”

\n “They may return again without any real information of what is going on” Cyril said.

\n “What about the humans?” Cynder asked suddenly.

\n All eyes turned to look at her.

\n “What do you mean?” Cyril asked.

\n “Maybe they could help” Cynder suggested said.

\n “I fail to see how they would be able to help us” Terrador said.

\n “They have strange equipment and strange methods. Perhaps they could do something” she offered.

\n “You may be right, Cynder” Spyro supported her. “They may help us”

\n “The advanced equipment the humans use could greatly benefit us in our endeavor” Volteer put it. “Perhaps requesting their assistance might be helpful”

\n “If we speak further of this, people might panic” Cyril warned. “Besides, we do not know if they will help us… not after what happened to them”

\n “I believe they will” Spyro said confident in the humans. “Our other option is to sit here and do nothing” Spyro said seriously.

\n “Perhaps…” Terrador said in a slowly, still unsure.

\n “What else have we got to do?” Cynder supported the idea; and that ended the debate.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “Alright…” Terrador began. “We have called you here for your assistance in a matter of great concern”

\n The Guardians, along with Spyro and Cynder, had met with some important humans. Doctor Maria Espinoza, Colonel Flanning and a few military officers, including Parker, had attended this secret meeting. A few important moles, like General Melin, Turon and Mason had also attended.

\n The Guardians, the moles, as well as the two human leaders sat in the city hall around a rounded table; the rest were standing up. Since several important figures going to the temple would draw more attention, it was decided to use the city hall. Besides, the city hall was used for politics… it was only proper they did this in this building.

\n “Very well; we shall hear your request” Maria said formally.

\n “You must understand that what we are about to speak must not go beyond this walls” Terrador warned.

\n “Be assured that not a word shall be said from us” Maria promised.

\n “Very well” Terrador said. “Volteer, if you please”

\n Volteer nodded in acknowledgment before starting.

\n “A few weeks ago, we received rumors that some villages south east of here had fallen silent” he began. “No report, new, communication, nor anything was heard from them after. At first, we were unconcerned and deemed it nothing more than simple bad weather. But when the number of villages and town that had fallen silent, we began to become worried, concerned and preoccupied. Some scout parties were sent to investigate and find out what had befallen to these villages. Just yesterday, they came back. They told us that the villages were empty, vacated, abandoned. Not a single life was found and not a lot of information as to what happened was found. Whether it was a plague, and attack by and enemy or an animal, we do not know”

\n “So… how do you want us to help you?” Flanning asked.

\n “We would like to know what happened” Cyril took over. “We know you have advanced equipment, and we were wondering if you could help us”

\n “Perhaps we could help” Maria said in a half decided tone. “We just need to send one some teams, preferably one with forensic and detective investigator background”

\n “We would have to send them to these villages. How far are these villages again?” Flanning asked

\n “A few days flight from here, in another island” Terrador supplied.

\n “That might be a problem” Maria said.

\n “Would you care to explain” Terrador asked.

\n “Well… our fuel supply is starting to get low” Maria said. “Before we came to Warfang, the apes attacked our base. They managed to blow several tanks full of fuel. So, from the beginning, we needed to be careful about our fuel supply”

\n “And last week accidental spill do not help either” Parker supplied. “But even with even with McAllister modified engines and fuel injection system, our choppers can’t make the trip. We might reach half the distance before or vehicles run out of gas, but we will not get there. And because the occurrences are on another island, so we can’t send them by land” Parker said.

\n “Such a trip will surely spend a lot of fuel though” Maria said.

\n “So we are stuck here then” Flanning ended, to which Parker nodded. “We are struck here… unless you guys don’t mind us riding you all the way”

\n “What? Carry you?” Cyril asked quite shocked. “We are not some mere beast to be rode upon… human!” Cyril lashed out very angrily as his pupils dilated into slits.

\n “Whoa! I mean no such thing!” Flanning said with his hand held up defensively.

\n “I have not ever allowed anyone to ever ride me like a mere beast!” Cyril continued as he stepped towards Flanning in a threatening manner.

\n “I apologize for any offense I might have given” Flanning said once again.

\n “To even suggest such a thing is an insult to me!” Cyril spat just in front of him as he showed his teeth and a light mist emanated from his nostrils.

\n Spyro looked warily at both Flanning and Cyril, fearing that the conversation would end in blows. Cyril seemed genuinely outraged at the concept of someone riding them, but Spyro knew that Flanning had did and honest and simple mistake.

\n “Calm down, Cyril” Terrador baritone voice commanded.

\n Cyril turned to look at Terrador.

\n “I will not allow such an insult…”

\n “I said enough!” Terrador commanded.

\n Cyril turned to look at the human and snorted, exhaling some cold mist, before turning back to his seat.

\n Terrador kept an eye on Cyril until he sat again before turning to look at Flanning.

\n “I apologize for his reaction” Terrador said sincerely. “Cyril is the typical prideful dragon and will not do anything that he consider below himself such as carrying someone”

\n Cyril gave a snort to press the point of not asking again.

\n “Touchy!” Spyro heard a human officer said in a low voice.

\n Spyro didn’t mind to allow someone to ride him; after all, Spyro allowed Sparx to ride him all the time and he didn’t mind… well, at least not when he was lazy around too much nor when he was making crude and insulting remarks. With Spyro size, he could not carry someone as big as a mole for long periods, but would not hesitate to do it if a friend needed it.

\n “As we were saying…” Maria began in a hesitant manner, “we do have the equipment needed for this investigation. What we lack is the means to get it and our personnel to the site”

\n “Riding a dragon is possible, but not a feasible idea” Terrador sighed. “It would require one dragon for each human that go on this trip. Add a few more that have to carry the equipment”

\n “And it isn’t light equipment” Maria put in a tone of understanding.

\n “Yes” Terrador agreed. “It would require a great number of dragons… leaving this city undermanned”

\n “Our helicopters do not have enough fuel to do the trip” Flanning finished.

\n “What about going in a ship by sea?” a human officer asked.

\n “That may be possible” Turon said. “There is a port that moles control south of Warfang. Most of the good and people arrive there form many part of the world”

\n “Unfortunately, many warships were lost with the war” General Melin replied. “I am afraid we can spare any”

\n “What about a merchant ship?” a human officer said. “We could grab one”

\n “If afraid that won’t be possible too” Mason said.

\n “And why is that” Flanning asked.

\n “Moles are not sea faring by nature. We like to have out feet on the ground, you see” Turon explained. “Warships are a necessity to patrol waters and fight of pirates… but we lack on a large commercial fleet”

\n “Even so, those few ships we have been also damaged” Mason supplied.

\n “We mostly hire other races ships for transport” Turon said. “Perhaps we could request or hire one from our allies”

\n “Even with good wind and a nice weather, a travel by sea would take perhaps the triple of the time it would take a dragon on flight to get there” Mason supplied.

\n “But it would take time to acquire a sea faring ship” Turon said somewhat hesitantly. “A great many number of sea faring vessels has been destroyed with the war against Malefor, and I’m sure that whoever we ask the ship for would give it grudgingly… or not at all”

\n “Then we can only wait to see if anything else comes?” Terrador asked in a semblance of defeat.

\n “I would be so sure about that” a sudden voice said.

\n Everyone turned to look as the source of the voice as the door was swung open. Ramirez had opened the door with his foot, as he carried something large. Spyro saw that the human carried a very large scroll in his arms and he had a small box that he could not see the contents of.

\n “Ramirez!” Flanning growled as he laid eyes on the human soldier.

\n “Hello everyone! I am sorry for being late” he sent his apologies.

\n Spyro started at Ramirez. Spyro knew who had been ‘invited’ to this meeting… and he was positively sure that Ramirez wasn’t on the list. Then how did he manage to find out about this meeting? Much less when and where it was being conducted?

\n “Late for what?” Flanning barked. “For getting into a secret meeting you should not be aware of and most certainly were not invited?”

\n “The invitation must have lost before it reached me, Colonel” Ramirez said with a smile as he dropped his load on the round table.

\n “Get... Out” he said slowly and forcibly.

\n “But I wanted to…” Ramirez started to say.

\n “NOW!” Flanning shouted.

\n Ramirez looked around for some support from anyone. He only received disapproving stares.

\n “Okay…” Ramirez said somewhat defeated as he gathered what he had brought. “I was just coming to deliver some important information about the villages. But since I am not welcome…” he trailed off.

\n He turned around and started to walk away. But before he had even managed to take three steps, Terrador spoke.

\n “Wait!” he said loudly to stop him.

\n Spyro could see the smug look on Ramirez face as he smiled. By the looks of him, Spyro guessed that Ramirez had awaited the word that Terrador just said.

\n “Do you have any information the villages?” Terrador asked with a skeptical look as he looked at Ramirez with his remaining eye.

\n “That was I was trying to do. Help. But then… I just got kicked out of here”

\n “Wait…” Terrador said again as Ramirez took another step toward the exit before shaking his head to try to clear it off. “I thought that this issue was being kept secret”

\n “Sir… with respect” Parker took a step forward, “Ramirez had the disturbing reputation of being everywhere when something interesting is happening. He also has the reputation of knowing everything that is going on around”

\n “Don’t remind me” Flanning grumbled.

\n “So…” Parker continued. “If someone could know anything about this situation… it’s him”

\n “How does one collect that vast amount of information?” Volteer asked quite thrilled.

\n “Trade secret, my friend” Ramirez said with a wink.

\n “He probably knows and have already befriended the whole city by now” Parker said. “So… he always has a friend who has a friend who has a friend who heard something or knows something. That… and hearing rumors. Those two reasons are the official reasons for his apparent intelligence. The unofficially reason vary. It range from eavesdropping conversations, trailing people, getting into restricted areas as well as some other…unorthodox methods”

\n “Awww Lieutenant… it hurts me that you think of me that way” Ramirez said in a semblance of hurt.

\n “And you let him do these things?” Terrador asked.

\n “No. If he has… then he is very good at it since he has not been caught” Parker said.

\n “And the moment I do… I will put my hands on his throat and choke him to death” Flanning said in a cruel way as he threw a hateful look at Ramirez.

\n A few moments of silence ensured before the decision of taking Ramirez in.

\n “Very well” Terrador said. “Ramirez… “Terrador wave a paw for the human to continue.

\n Ramirez once again turned to the table, where he deposited the things he carried. He unrolled the huge paper and it was revealed to be a huge map. Spyro saw it showed a huge area. In it, appeared Warfang near its center. Father away, he saw island of Munitions Forge, Dante’s Freezer and Tall Plains amongst other places he didn’t know about.

\n “All righty… let’s get started” Ramirez said as he placed the final cornerstone on the huge map.

\n “What do you about what happened to these villages?” Terrador asked.

\n “Patience” Ramirez half scolded the big dragon. “First, let us point out the villages of interest” he said as he took several pins. “Right… a little more than four weeks ago, the first rumor started that these three…” he placed pins on three spots, “…these three villages had fallen silent. Well, nothing important so far. Then, three days later… these three also went silent” Ramirez continued.

\n “But I thought…” Volteer started to say.

\n “Let me finish please” Ramirez interrupted Volteer. “Thank you. A week later… these cluster of seven, including the town. Now… just ten days ago; these other four. And four days ago another two. “And I have just heard yesterday night that other two villages… these ones, have fallen also silent.

\n In the end, Spyro could see that nearly two dozen pins were in the map in the southeastern section.

\n “I thought that we Guardians only knew the exact number of villages that have fallen silent!” Volteer exclaimed. “How is that even possible?”

\n “See what I mean when I say he know everything” Parker said.

\n “But the soldier Ramirez has also included one village that I was not aware that it had fallen silent” Volteer said as he pointed at a pin.

\n “See what I mean when I say he know everything” Parker repeated again.

\n “Anyway… back to the map” Ramirez prompted. “Now… judging by the pattern, as well as some … rumors… I believe that these villages have fallen due to enemy attack”

\n “An attack?” General Melin asked suspiciously.

\n “Yep! The villages itself were not the primary target but rather a move in a bigger game” Ramirez said.

\n “I thing I see what you are saying Ramirez” Flanning said as he stood to survey the map. “I believe these is indeed a preparation for a bigger attack”

\n “Another attack?” Terrador asked. “Where?”

\n With that, Ramirez pulled out a knife, surprising everyone at the sudden appearance of the weapon. Then, Ramirez lifted it in an overdramatically way and brought id down on the map with a loud ‘thunk’, leaving the knife imbedded in the wood.

\n Terrador looked at the place where the knife lay.

\n “Tall Plains?” Terrador asked Ramirez with a raised eye ridge.

\n “Yep! The pattern of the villages’ incident looks very random, not giving any hint. But they did not count on Ramirez being here to decipher the purpose” Ramirez boasted.

\n “And what purpose would that be?” Mason asked.

\n “Isolate Tall Plains” Flanning finished. “They are slowly cutting any form of communication with that city. There will not be a village enough to support it if it comes under attack”

\n “Nor a place their could flee in case the battle goes wrong” Ramirez put in. “Nor receive any supplies”

\n “If that is the case, then we must help them” Spyro finally took an active role.

\n Spyro had been in Tall Plains before; he and Sparx had. The Atlawa tribe rules Tall Plains and Spyro was a friend of the Atlawa tribe and his leader, Kane. He and Sparx had helped them during their hour of need and, in gratitude, they had been made gods.

\n Spyro would not let them die.

\n “We would offer our assistance” Flanning graciously offered; “but we would have to go by ship if we wanted to go there”

\n “Perhaps not” Maria said in a thoughtful mood. Everyone turned to look at her before she continued. “As you most probably know, McAllister found a way to use the gems power”

\n “It is hard not to notice” a human officer said. “He has been boasting about it for days!”

\n “It was a wondrous discovery when he told me how to artificially harness its power” Volteer said quite happy about the memory. “Now that we know how to harness it power artificially, I am sure we could use the gems for many practical and useful applications” Volteer was short of jumping from excitement.

\n “Which bring me to my point” Maria said. “McAllister has been pestering me to allow him to make something with it. I guess a power source which we could install on our helicopters would solve the problem of getting there fast”

\n “That is certainly good news” Terrador said. “But in the mean time, we need to warn them” he said before turning to Spyro. “Spyro, since the Atlawa tribe holds you on a very high regard, I believe that you should go and inform them of the situation”

\n “Yes sir” Spyro said.

\n “I’ll go too” Cynder said.

\n “I expected as much” Terrador said with a warm smile. “We will also send some dragons to help in the defense of the city in case it is attacked. Ancestor knows they will most likely need them”

\n “Hmmm… I might do a good job being and intelligence officer” Ramirez said with a thoughtful expression. “Don’t you think Colonel?”

\n “Over my dead body” he growled.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “Oh-oh-oh…c-can I go too?!” Gale asked excitedly at Spyro and Cynder next morning, just as they were about to leave.

\n Upon learning they were leaving to a new place, Gale immediately placed himself in front of them and started jumping and asking to take him with them.

\n “I don’t know Gale” Spyro answered while he was having breakfast. “You are still training under the Guardians so you would have to ask them. But we will…”

\n Gale did not hear him since he jumped and ran off to find the Guardians with his meal in his pate half eaten.

\n “He is a little bit too enthusiastic, isn’t he?” Cynder asked as she saw Gale’s white tail disappear around the corner.

\n “A little bit too much, I believe” Spyro answered. “I didn’t even told him we are most likely headed into battle”

\n “I’m sure the Guardians will tell him” Cynder assured him.  “Come on; let’s finish breakfast and head towards the meeting place”

\n “We need to find Sparx first” Spyro said. “He will kill us if forget him again”

\n Cynder sighed. She was hoping to go without the annoying dragonfly and actually have some time with Spyro without him buzzing in and start giving his sarcastic remarks.

\n “You may be right” she conceded.

\n Upon finishing their meal, they went and soon found Sparx still asleep in Spyro’s room. He had picked a nice pot with a flower to serve as his makeshift bed. Spyro didn’t want to awake him when Spyro first got up since the small dragonfly gets more annoying if woken up.

\n Spyro went towards his sleeping dragonfly brother and started to try to wake him up.

\n “Hey… Sparx, wake up” Spyro said.

\n “Hmummn….” Sparx murmured in his sleep.

\n “Sparx, it’s time to go” Spyro tried once again.

\n “Five more minutes mommy…” Sparx mumbled as he waved his hand in a dismissing manner.

\n Cynder could not help but chuckle at Sparx reluctance to wake up. Cynder saw Spyro was starting to get annoyed. Cynder rolled her eyes and lightly pushed Spyro awake so she could try to wake Sparx. Instead of the gently manner Spyro had been doing, she opted for a more direct and effective approach. Rising a claw, she poked non to gently at the still sleeping dragonfly.

\n Sparx eyes bulged when Cynder’s claws poked his stomach, making all the air inside the small insect rush out.

\n “Good! Now you are awake” Cynder said with a laugh.

\n “Cynder!” Sparx groaned. “Why do you wake me up? I was having such a pleasant dream!”

\n “Come on Sparx, we are leaving” Spyro urged the small dragonfly.

\n “I have just been woken up! Give me some time for my drowsiness” Sparx complained. “Why did you wake me like that? Do you know there are better ways to wake someone?” Sparx accused.

\n “Like when you woke me yelling that we are under attack?” Spyro said as he recalled that particular morning Sparx had taken to himself to wake him.

\n “No!” Sparx said loudly. “I mean gently”

\n “Tried that. It didn’t work” Spyro said. “Come on now! We have to go!”

\n “You guys go on ahead” Sparx said as he relined once again as he tried to take regain his sleep.

\n “Well, I thought you might be interested in going” Cynder said as he turned around and started walking away.

\n Spyro, taking her hint and playing along, said. “Well… I guess that I have to go alone then and explain to the Atlawas why you didn’t come”

\n Faster that Cynder’s eye could catch; the small dragonfly rose and zipped past her until he was hovering next to Spyro.

\n “So… when did you say we are leaving?” Sparx said with a really eager expression.

\n “Right now” Cynder said with a light chuckle as they made their way towards the departing point.

\n The trio went into an open area inside the temple where they would take flight and leave. It was big, allowing many dragons to take off or land simultaneously. When they arrived, they saw ten dragons waiting patiently for the order to leave.

\n Cynder gave a double looks as he saw Shockwave amongst the crowd.

\n “Shockwave?” she called. “What are you doing here?”

\n “Cynder! Spyro!” he called back as he approached them. “I should have know that you would also be sent in this mission”

\n “But why you?” Spyro asked.

\n “Volteer came to me and asked me if I wanted to go” the electric dragons explained. “Of course, he explained to me where are we going and what we will be doing there. He also said that it would be a substitute for training”

\n “I’m glad you will come with us” Spyro said with a grin.

\n “Me too” Cynder said.

\n “Well… isn’t this a lovely draconic reunion?” Sparx said sarcastically as he saw the three grinning dragons.

\n With a shake of their head of the three dragons, the group sat a little bit away from the rest as they waited for the Guardians to arrive. It did not take long for the Guardians to arrive. Cynder also spotted Gale jumping around the Guardians in a pleading manner as he sought permission to go.

\n “Listen up!” Terrador called in a booming voice as he stepped into the courtyard. “You have been chosen to deliver a warning to our friend in Tall Plains. In addition, you are to help the Atlawa tribe should the necessity arise. Is that understood?”

\n “Yes sir” the dragons replied.

\n “Good!” Terrador said quite pleased. Then, he turned to look at the group of young dragons “Come here” he called then with a wave of his paw.  When they stood next to the Earth Guardian, Terrador lifted a paw and placed it in Spyro’s back. “Young Spyro here will be the leader of this expedition, so all of you listen to what his say and heed his words” Terrador announced.

\n “What?” Spyro jumped in surprise as he looked up at the Guardian with utter shock.

\n Cynder did a double take as he looked at the Guardians in surprise. He also looks as Spyro couldn’t believe the announcement that just had been said.

\n ‘Spyro? Leading the expedition?’Cynder thought.

\n The rest of the assembly, except the Guardians, looked at each other with a questioning look as if asking if they heard right.

\n “Is it clear?” Terrador said quite loudly.

\n “Yes sir” came the reply from the dragons that were to accompany them.

\n “Terrador, no!” Spyro called desperately.

\n “What is it, young dragon?” the Guardians asked kindly.

\n “I don’t think I should lead the group” he said.

\n “Why not?”

\n “I… I don’t think I have experience enough in leading” Spyro said. “Someone older would do better than me”

\n “That may be true” Cyril agreed. “But you also know the way to Tall Plains and you now the locals better than anyone else here”

\n “But… but…” Spyro stammered.

\n “As the Purple Dragon” Volteer continued, “many creatures will look up to you for guidance or direction”

\n Spyro opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something, yet not a sound coming from his mouth. He turned to look at the rest of the Guardians and his friend, and saw all of them nodding in approval.

\n “Do not look so unsure of yourself when you are leading, Spyro” Cyril told him. “A leader must always show a strong face and must not hesitate”

\n Spyro turned to look at the dragons that were supposed to go with them. All of them were talking excitedly amongst themselves that they were to fly with the great heroes as they stole a glance his way.

\n Eventually, he conceded.

\n “Fine. I’ll do it” Spyro said.

\n Cynder felt her hear swell in pride as he looked at Spyro take the mantle of responsibility.

\n “You’ll do fine” Cynder said suddenly When everyone turned to look at her, she continued. “You will do fine. I have faith in your” she said in complete sincerity.

\n Spyro looked her way and gave a smile very full of appreciation and very heartwarming.

\n “Wait! Can I go to?” Gale asked excitedly.

\n All eyes fell upon the small white dragon.

\n “Yes Gale. You may go” Terrador said after a moment of thought.

\n “Yes!” Gale said in triumph.

\n “Very well, now you must go” Terrador told them in a loud voice.

\n “You heard the dragon; let’s move!” an ice dragon from the group said as they extended their wings.

\n “Spyro… take flight and lead them” Cyril suggested.

\n Cynder saw Spyro look at those around him. Terrador looked at him approvingly, same as Cyril Shockwave had already expended his wings and was ready to fly. Gale had lowered the goggles that never left his head to cover his eyes in flight.

\n But when Spyro turned to look in her direction, Cynder took the steps separating them and gave him a small lick in his cheek.

\n Cynder heard several chuckles around her. She didn’t mind, but she saw Spyro staring to blush.

\n With a last look at those around him, Spyro opened his wings and took flight. Moment later, Cynder went up, followed by the rest of the flight.

\n Immediately, Cynder choose her flight spot net to Spyro as he flew in front. He turned to look her way and she threw a reassuring smile his way, which was received by one of his own.

\n Slowly, the rest of the dragons went into formation as they left Warfang.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “Are you sure it was a good idea?” Cyril asked Terrador.

\n “Yes. He will do fine” he said confidently. “He has never failed us”

\n “I know Spyro will do fine” Cyril admonished. “I was talking about Gale”

\n “I believe it is for the best” the Earth Guardians said as he watched the small dots that were the dragons retreating.

\n “I fail to see how it is a good decision, Terrador” Volteer shook his head. “We have all seen the young dragon fighting prowess. He is starting to get proficient when engaged in combat  against dummies; but in an actual match against a real opponent he becomes paralyze… he freezes… he hardly moves a muscle. How is sending him into this expedition is good way to awaken his powers?”

\n “I think he already has done so” Terrador said.

\n “Then why can’t he use them?” Cyril asked with a hint of surprise.

\n “Because he is unconsciously blocking it. Repressing them” Terrador explained. “Something must have passed in his past to make him fearful of it”

\n “But what could have happened to him to make him fearful to use what is natural for a dragon to do?” Volteer asked. “Could he have injured or killed someone when using them?”

\n “Unlikely” Terrador said. “He seemed desperate to be able use them... yet, at the same time, frightful of them”

\n “Something traumatic, I assume?” Cyril took a guess.

\n “Perhaps…” Terrador said as he lowered his eyes. “In any way, it prevent him from fighting, but not entirely”

\n “How so?” Cyril asked.

\n “Cynder told me that he jumped into a fight to protect her, yet he can’t do anything to fight for himself.” Terrador explained. “Something, something deep must trigger his response against fighting yet he overrode that fear and jumped into it. I guess that only way I can see for him to be able to awaken those powers is to face that fear that it is inside him”

\n “If that is the case, then I hope you are right” Cyril sighed. “After all, we didn’t told him that he will most likely be flying into a battle”

\n The Guardians looked at the rapidly fading dragons. All of them remained silent as they watched.

\n “I believe that we have spent enough time in watching the departure of the group” Volteer said as he turned around.

\n Cyril started to follow, but Terrador stayed put.

\n “Terrador? You seem too serious” Cyril commented. “What is on your mind?”

\n “Retirement, actually” Terrador said after a moment of hesitation.

\n “What?” Cyril asked confused. “Surely you speak in jest! We still have what it takes to perform our duties!”

\n “Cyril…” Terrador started to say. “We are no longer the dragons that we used to be. Even if we can do our jobs, we can no longer perform some of our responsibilities”

\n “What?!” Cyril exclaimed. “No… we still can perform our duties. Volteer, tell him we still can do it” Cyril asked for support desperately from the electric dragon.

\n “I may be the youngest of the Guardians, Cyril; but I am, by no means, no longer young” Volteer said, siding with Terrador, much to the surprise of Cyril. “I find it increasingly more difficult to continue doing our duties as I become tired more easily”

\n “But…” Cyril stammered.

\n “I believe that was must step down and allow a new generation of Guardians to rise” Terrador sighed. “After I stepped down, I was hoping to become part of the city council, leaving the Guardianship to someone more able”

\n “We still have to find a Fire Guardian to replace Ignitus” Cyril said desperately, hoping to gain more time in their post. “We can’t just leave that!”

\n “With the increase in the dragon population that has come lately, we might find someone who can fill the post” Terrador said. “With a little luck, we might find someone young and proficient in the art of fire”

\n “And if we don’t?” Cyril asked with a tingle of hope in it.

\n “We pick someone who will act as a replacement until one more apt is found” Terrador said. “Either way, it is time to step down”

\n “We still need to look for possible candidates for replacement and that takes time” Cyril said.

\n “I believe I already have one” Volteer said. “Shockwave is young and very proficient in the usage of electricity. I knew I needed to find a replacement soon. That is why I had been training him to be my successor for these last few weeks”

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n “WHAT?” Gale yelled at the top of his lungs. “We are flying where a battle is going to take place?” he almost shrieked.

\n “I was certain that the Guardians told you” Spyro said concerned for his friend.

\n “No they didn’t” Gale said, staring to loose control as fear stated to surface. “I want to go back”

\n “We can’t go back, we are almost there!” Shockwave said.

\n The trip had been relatively uneventful. Spyro had started as the flight leader, only to be changed when he got tired of being in front. They swapped places from time to time to make it easier on them.

\n At first, Spyro was a little nervous about being leader and all that. Thankfully, Iciclos, a dragon that had accompanied them, seemed to take note of Spyro’s nervousness and offered suggestions as to when to switch places and when to rest and so on do forth. But in the end, it was Spyro the one that needed to give the order.

\n So was the routine. They flew, switching places and resting occasionally for a breather. When they landed to spend the night, some would go hunting or foraging to for food. They kept watch for the night by pairs selected at random changing every two hours.

\n Gale was having a nice time during his travel. Like before, he wished he could have ten pairs of eyes and be in five different places at the same time. He sometimes would swoop down and look for a moment that which had pike his interest. He would stay behinds for a minute or two before rising up again and catching up with the rest.

\n What did sent him off was one open plain they had to cross before the ocean. Just like the sea, he had never seen such a flat place of land… as far as the eye could see. All the time, they had always flown over mountains or hills; but never such a flat place of land.

\n What also was a big surprise for him was one huge river. Large amounts of water ran toward the ocean. Gale was accustomed to small rivers and streams; never on this huge thing.

\n After four days of flight, they crossed the small stretch of ocean. They could have gone around and taken a longer route where both landmasses were connected by a small isthmus. Still, they were in a hurry.

\n It took only five hours to cross it, unlike the journey to the Kalakean Mountains that took the whole day. Gale was now more at ease at the large stretch of water than he had been the first time, but it still remained awed by the sheer size of it.

\n Another thing that surprised Gale was the vast amount of vegetation when they arrived at the other island. Beyond him lay the green of the trees that extended as the sea had… as far as he could see.

\n “It is a jungle” Shockwave explained. “It is hot and very humid”

\n All in all, Gale was having a nice time. At least he did until he learned about the nature of their journey.

\n “I want to go back!” he said nearly loudly.

\n “I’m afraid we can’t turn back Gale” Spyro sighed. He hated doing this to his friend. “The Atlawa people need us and turning back will make us spend too much time”

\n “I can’t! I can’t go on!” Gale started to hyperventilate.

\n They were having a few minutes rest to eat something or drink before continuing. The other dragons had separated and were thankfully not listening to Gale, something which Spyro was thankful for.

\n “You can always return by yourself if you want” Sparx said sarcastically as he worsened the problem. “There is no one stopping you”

\n “I can’t go back alone” Gale said hysterically. “And I don’t want to be in a battle!” Gale pleaded once more.

\n “Gale…” Cynder tried to console him. “The Guardians would not have sent you for just because; they must have a purpose, which serves in your best interest. Besides, you do not have to be on the front lines if you don’t want to”

\n When Cynder explained that, Gale seemed to calm himself; and just in time since the others started to arrive. They continued their journey and Gale remained close to Cynder, Spyro or Shockwave… too close. He was also looking around nervously and was fidgeting.

\n Night caught up with them and they decided to sleep. Gale remained nervous, looking around afraid at every small noise that was heard… but he managed to calm himself to sleep.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n Cynder gave a huge yawn, showing her pointy teeth, as she struggled to stay awake in the middle of the night. It was her turn, along with a fire dragon called Pyre, to stand watch while the rest of the group slept.

\n She had been at this for over an hour and she was starting to get sleepy. The fact that nothing was happening didn’t improve the boring situation she found herself in. It also didn’t help that she had gotten the middle watch just past midnight. She would have preferred to have the first or last watch. But luck was not on her side.

\n She stole a glance back to Pyre.

\n He, unlike like Cynder, held his eyes open hardly blinking in his impassive vigil. His eyes darted this way and that, looking for potential danger. He was a member of the city guard, and he was used to keeping a vigil during the night.

\n She and Pyre had talked to pass the time. The topics ranged from their trip, to Gale, to Spyro, to the humans… many different things. However, they both stood far from the topic of their pasts.

\n Eventually, Cynder literally slapped herself with her tail to shake herself into wakefulness. She blinked several times, telling herself that she will remain awake. Unfortunately, her eyes were drifting to close after a minute.

\n “You are falling asleep again” Pyre commented.

\n “Can’t help it” she yawned once again.

\n “Hehe….” Pyre chuckled. “Come on; let’s take a small walk then to see if we can roué ourselves up”

\n Without saying anything else, both of them stood up and began walking around the perimeter of the camp. It took some time for Cynder to be more alert than she was a few minutes before.

\n They were making their thirtieth lap around the sleeping group when suddenly Pyre stopped and snapped his head in one direction. His eyes were wide as he scanned his surroundings.

\n “Pyre, what is…? Cynder began to ask.

\n “Ssshhh!” he silenced her with a hiss.

\n Cynder, understanding what was going on, turned her head in the direction Pyre was facing and began to listen and see anything. The two of them remained motionless for a several long moments, taking everything in with their senses.

\n Cynder did not know why, but as she remained motionless beside the big dragon, she started to feel uneasy. Apart from that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

\n “It must have been my imagination” Pyre mused as he relaxed his stance as continued to on his laps around the camp.

\n Cynder, however, remained motionless as she continued scanning amongst the trees.

\n “Come on, Cynder” Pyre told her.

\n Eventually, Cynder tore her gaze away and turned to the fire dragon.

\n As she began walking, a small whizzing noise came her way. Instincts from long periods of being in battle suddenly kicked in. She jumped away in any direction. The whistling sound passed near her.

\n She knew what that was. She had plenty of those things fired at her during her battles to not recognize one.

\n ‘An arrow!’she thought grimly.

\n When she landed, she crouched in a low position next to a tree ready to call the alarm. However, she was interrupted when another whistling sound came her way. She jerked backward and she heard a ‘thunk’ next to her.

\n Effectively, there stood the arrow shaft, impaled in the tree next to her.

\n “AMBUSH!!!” Pyre roared at the top of his lungs as he also realized the danger.

\n At his roar, all the dragons roused themselves from their sleep in confusion. They looked at every direction, trying to see where the danger was coming from.

\n Also, upon hearing the dragon roar and loosing the element of surprise, the enemy decided to jump an attack while the dragons stood in disarray trying to figure out what was happening.

\n Cynder managed to evade another arrow that was sent her way before jumping toward an approaching orc that was wilding his club high in the air. She head butted her foe, sending him flying backward before Pyre finished him off with a blast of fire.

\n Cynder tried finding another target, but the fast paced fight, the loud roaring of the dragons only added to the confusion. Eventually, she saw an orc archer had its eyes fixed on another dragon as he tried to reload his bow. However, Cynder would not let him. She pounced on the orcs back, making its face eat dirt, and started to slash with her hind claws, disemboweling her enemy.

\n As she finished with him, she saw from the edge of her vision a big gout of flame, followed by shrieks of pain as an unfortunate soul was caught in its blast. It was no doubt an attack from one of the fire dragons or Spyro.

\n The fight was quick and merciless. No one knew where the enemy was and the loud raring, the flashed of light from lighting and fire, only added to the confusion.

\n Cynder heart gave a lurch as she heard the howling of pain from one of the dragons. She chanced a quick look and saw an electric dragon fall on his side with a huge gash on his side. Next to him, Cynder managed to saw a very odd looking grubling.

\n Cynder had to do a double take as she looked at the grubling. Unlike the small and easy to defeat grubling, this one was much bigger. She could also see the strength it possessed as he carried a huge dark sword that emanated dark energy like steaming water. He had a dark armor, which like the sword, dark energy emanated from. Its eyes were glowing yellow orbs, showing the evil inside the creature.  

\n The grubling raised his dark sword in the air to finish the downed dragon. Cynder noticed this action and she intervened. She took a deep breath and exhaled a strong gust of wind directed at the enemy. The dark grubling stumbled backward a few steps as the strong wind hit him, making the distance between him and the downed dragon increase.

\n Before the grubling could regain his footing and try to finish the downed dragon, Cynder jumped and put herself between the injured one and his executioner.

\n At the sudden appearance of another dragon, the grubling seemed to hesitate, but soon, confidence once again showed in his face. HE gave the dragoness a smile, displaying an array of wicked and ugly teeth. Cynder jerked back in surprise at not only the confident look on the grubling, but also on the power that she felt from him.

\n ‘No matter’Cynder thought as she crouched low and prepared herself. ‘I am fairly confident that I can still take this guy’

\n Cynder barred her teeth, snarling at her foe, hopping to intimidate him. But that didn’t work. Instead, the grubling lunged at her, jumping the distance that separated them and making a vertical slash.  Cynder dodged out of harms way before retaliating with a slash of her own.

\n Much to her surprise, the grubling evaded the attack, which surprised Cynder. That moment of hesitation almost made Cynder loose her head as the grubling gave a horizontal attack. Cynder scurried away before turning back on him.

\n ‘Damn! Pay attention!’she admonished herself. ‘He moved faster than any grubling I have ever faced! This is no ordinary grubling; do not get overconfident’

\n Before dicing in another course of action, the grubling picked up a big rock and threw it at her. Cynder lowered her head to avoid the rock.

\n ‘And much stronger too’

\n Deciding to use another tactic than melee, Cynder decided to use her elements. As the grubling once again dashed to her, she shot him using her fear powers.

\n The shriek she gave resounded in the forest, making the battle noise fade for a few seconds as everyone turned to look her way, before picking up again in earnest. The dark red energy left her mouth in waves as she continued to give energy into the attack.

\n When she finished, she hoped the grubling would be either too scared to move or was on his way to Mount Malefor, running as fast as he could.

\n But that was not the case.

\n After a few moments of paralyzing fear, he gave a quick shake of his body before regaining a defensive posture.

\n ‘WHAT?’ she asked in her mind.

\n The grubling had simply shaken off her attack as if it was nothing! Cynder stood there, gawking at him; and that cost her.

\n The grubling attacked quickly while Cynder stood there, shocked. When she realized the danger, she tried to evade, but it was too late. She felt the sword slice through her side, making the pain shoot through her body like fire. She screamed.

\n Fortunately, the wound was hollow, but it impaired Cynder movement somewhat.

\n ‘Stupid!’ she told herself. ‘You forgot a basic rule of fighting!’

\n The grubling once again dashed toward her. This time, Cynder spat a glob of her strongest poison, more like acid, that stuck the grubling head on.

\n The shriek of fear was a welcome relief for Cynder. What she did not expect was for the grubling to take of his armor, leaving the charred pieces of dark metal on the ground as the acid consumed them. As for the grubling, the armor had been strong enough to manage to take it off before the poison touched his body.

\n Cynder, having suffered two mistakes from her part already, learned not to gawk. She moved fast and prepared to deliver a blow to her enemy with one of her new moves. The grubling noticed her and managed to evade; but not before a small wound was made from Cynder’s claws upon his arm.

\n She smiled at her victory since a small wound was all that was needed.

\n She faced the grubling with a smile as he was clucking his wounded arm. Then, he started to stagger. His steps becoming more uncoordinated, his body moved from side to size as if dizzy. Then, he fell on the ground where, with a few spasms, died.

\n She sighed in relief at the end of the duel and at the fact that her technique worked. That small injury she had caused with her claws had been enough to give the small creature a deadly dose of fast acting posing. Once she nicked his hide, it was over for him.

\n She had discovered that technique while she was practicing her poison element in new ways. She was not sure how it happened, but she had accidentally scratched a mole while she was using her powers. Immediately afterwards, he felt dizzy and woozy.  The mole was rushed into the hospital, saying that he had been portioned. Cynder had to explain her actions to the guardians, saying that it was an accident.

\n The mole was hospitalized for a day, vomiting and having a fever. Luckily, the amount of poison energy she was using was low, so the mole made it. She hadn’t tried it before against a real live target… until now. This time, she used her full potential, killing the grubling in a matter of seconds with just a scratch.

\n But she could not roar her victory as the grublin died. There was a battle to be fought.

\n Turning to look around, she noticed several orcs were fleeing the battle field while another dark grubling commanding them. However, she did not expect them to have a prisoner. The white dragon trashed around, screaming in fear as the hideous creatures tried to take him away.

\n ‘GALE!!!’she recognized him.

\n Cynder tried to pursue them and save her friend, but she was intercepted by a few orcs that blocked her path. She watched desperately as Gale was taken from her view as they retreated further. She tried to side step them, but they denied her pass as the brandished their weapons.

\n “I don’t have time for this!” she snarled as she focused on her foes.

\n Cynder used her shadow element to blend with the night as she stalked closer to her unsuspecting foes. The orcs were surprised by her sudden disappearance and became wary because of it. Cynder burst from underneath one orc, sending him a good three meters into the air. Before the other could react, she jumped after the airborne orc and bit him in the neck in a pinning move.

\n Cynder felt in her tongue the metallic taste of blood. Unlike a good prey animal’s blood, the orcs was foul and disgusting. After making sure she had her enemy, she started to slash using her hind claws at the abdomen of her enemy. Blood and gore rained down upon the enemy as she started to tear apart her foe, not giving any hint of mercy.

\n As she started to fall back toward the ground, she gave twisted her body and threw down the orc into his friends, colliding with one. She then flew toward another, slashing its neck with her sharp tail blade as she flew by. The orc gurgled as blood started to pour out from its open throat, and it took no time for him to die.

\n Cynder then turned to face the only orc that was still standing. Before he could move, Cynder blew shadow smoke from her maw. The dark energy burned the outsides and insides of her enemy as he screamed in pain. Only when the screams died away, did she stop using her element, revealing a burn corpse.

\n But she could not linger; she needed to go after Gale and save him.

\n Before she could take a step, she felt powerful hand grab her throat and started to squeeze. She fell on the ground, gasping desperately for breath. She realized that this orc was the one she struck down using the dead body of her first victim. She had completely forgotten about him.

\n She tried to break free of the choking grip it had on her, but her position prevented her from moving much. She also tried to breathe one of her elements, but with the hands blocking her neck passage, it was impossible.

\n She thought quickly on a way to get out of this and decided to use another of her newly acquired techniques.

\n She fixed her green eyes into those red eyes of her enemy. The orc looked down at her with a look of with triumph and an evil smile. However, his smile disappeared and his look of triumph faltered when Cynder’s eyes began to change.

\n Cynder eyes started to change from her usual green color to that of a blood red. When the orc gazed into those deep eyes, he started to tremble slightly, as if he could not turn away.

\n Then, he freaked out.

\n He jumped away from Cynder and grabbed his head as if it was just about to explode. Cynder quickly took a huge breath and stood up before focusing her gaze on the orc once more. She was casting her fear element through her eyes. What was more; she was playing with the orc’s fear… and mind.

\n She saw the orc’s deepest fears and made them a reality in its mind. The orc literally saw everything that he feared happening to him. It was driving him crazy.

\n Cynder felt a pang of pity for the poor orc as he fell to the ground and started to shake uncontrollably like a child. She had first discovered this new technique back at the temple. She had been frustrated by not finding any new way to use her elements and was angry. That was when a dove perched itself upon one of the poles that were in the arena.

\n Cynder had turned her gaze toward the dove. It seemed that the small bird was laughing at her attempt to improve her combat style, and that only made her even angrier. She turned and faced the bird in anger and frustration as she wished the dove away.

\n Suddenly, she saw a brief image upon her mind in a flash. She managed to saw a hawk with it talons extended trying to catch her.

\n With a shake of her head, she realized that she had seen the bird’s fear. She concentrated upon the bird and tried to project the birds fear into its mind. After a few tries, she managed it. The dove started to flap its wing in terror and fly in circles in a fanatic manner.

\n Cynder gave a chuckle at the new application of her fear as she continued trying it. She could also see and control her prey’s mind as the nightmare played on… if it can be called that. In reality, there was no hawk chasing the bird; but inside the bird’s mind, it was all too real.

\n Unfortunately, she played with the bird mind too much and as she feed too much energy into the spell and caused the bird to die. Cynder realized in that moment that she should not use this technique lightly. She should not see another creatures fear and use it against them. She should not play with someone’s fear like that.

\n But in battle, she had no choice. There is also no room for pity as Cynder continued her attack upon the orc. She continued feeding fear energy into her prey’s mind until his bran could not take that amount of pressure and literally ripped itself apart. The orc died immediately. The only sign of what had happened to this orc was a tiny red line of blood that was dripping from its nose.

\n Releasing her power, Cynder’s eyes turned back to normal. Now with a clear way, she followed the path Gale and his captors had taken. She ran as fast as she could, leaving the skirmish behind her as she hurried, fearing the worst for the poor dragon that had been caught in the battle.

\n The orcs that escaped had left easy-to-see footprints and destruction amidst the dense vegetation, making the trail Cynder was following easy to follow. However, the abundance of natural trees and bushed were obstacles in her way.

\n She continued running until she heard Gale’s screams thought the foliage. Fearing the worst, she picked up her pace, whishing that she would not arrive too late.

\n She followed the trail, keeping an eye for any subtle hint that could give her some information. Suddenly, she noted what seemed to be some scuffling in the area. She another freshly made trail, going in another completely direction than the previous one.

\n Amidst all the confusion, she managed to discern a pair of dragon prints along with a set of goggles half covered in mud.

\n ‘Gale must have escaped!’ she thought.

\n She quickly picked the goggles and followed Gale’s prints.

\n Immediately after that, she started to the sounds of battle. It was close! She feared that Gale had to fend for himelf. The clang of metal hitting metal resounded on the jungle, giving Cynder the chance to pinpoint her quarry.

\n Wait… metal? Cynder knew that Gale could not wield a blade. And as far as she knew, no one friendly to dragons was in the area. The closest were the Atlawas… and they were some ways off yet.

\n So who could it be?

\n As she continued running and the battle sound, she passed a dead corpse of an orc. It had a nasty slash across its chest, but that was all Cynder could see before she passed it. Then, she cleared a vegetation obstacle and had a good view of her quarry and whoever was fighting them.

\n However, she did not expected what she saw.

\n Cynder stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that it was only one creature fighting against two orcs and the dark grubling!

\n Cynder could see that it stood taller that the orcs as he stood on two legs. An orc would get to its chest. It moved so fast that moved in an intricate dance between the orcs and grubling, that Cynder had trouble following its movements.

\n What she was able to discern, however, was that it was wearing a dark cloak that covered its entire body. It also had a hood, which obscured the users face, giving a hint of mystery as to who it was.

\n Just behind the fighting figures, half hidden amidst bushes and trees, she was able to discern the white scales of Gale. He was curled in a tight ball, visibly shaking and whimpering in fright at the situation he found himself in. Cynder saw that he was bleeding from o spot, but not too much. She guessed that he may have been reached and brought down while he tried to escape.

\n Cynder eyes turned once again to the fast pace fight for a few seconds. A small glint that reflected the moonlight caught Cynder’s attention to the stranger’s hand. The dark minions were surprised by the sudden appearance of the weapon on the stranger’s hand, and that gave him and opening. The creature quickly slashed and orc neck with the knife and blood started to pour out amidst gurgles from the doomed soldier.

\n Before the other could react, the creature stabbed the other orc in the gut with such force that he lifted it. Lifting the orc still impaled with the knife up to his face, Cynder thought she saw the creature give a toothily grin at his foe before kicking the orc off his blade. The kick was with such force that the orc flew nearly ten meters, crashing against a tree with the sound of wood breaking before falling to the ground dead.

\n With two enemies dead, the cloaked stranger turned to face the last one… the grubling.

\n The grubling lunged at the strange creature with his word ready to stab. The tall being effortlessly sidestepped the attack before delivering a powerful kick that sent the grubling towards the trees. However, the grubbing stood up immediately as if nothing happened and attacked once again.

\n The following moves were fast and quick as both duelist slashed, stabbed, parried and evaded. In a stroke of luck, the strange creature lost his balance and slipped in a puddle. Taking the opportunity, the grubling attacked. The mystery person tried to parry with his large knife. Although he deflected the attack, he lost the grip of his weapon and the grubling leapt for the kill.

\n Turning around, the stranger lashed with a tail that suddenly appeared from beneath the cloak, hitting the grubling and sending him away. Cynder had barely enough time to see that the creature had a tail before it disappeared behind the cloak once more, as if waiting for another moment to appear.

\n Struggling back up to his feet, the grubling gripped his sword tightly as it regarded its foe. Both combatants stood ready, waiting.

\n As with an enemy with a weapon, the grubling was confident, attacking the weaponless stranger. That forced the creature to step back and evade the attacks with movement that seemed as if hit was dancing.

\n But it was bound to happen something.

\n Suddenly, the large creature stepped forward and managed to grasp the wrist of the grubling that held the sword. The grubling desperately tried to break free as he clawed with his free hand at that of his enemy. But it was an iron grip; and the chuckle that came from the creature only serves to confirm Cynder’s suspicions that hit was up into something.

\n With shrieks of pain, the grubling started lashing blindly. Cynder eyes widened as she saw the arm of the grubling that was being held started to be covered in ice! The creature was somehow freezing it!

\n The ice started to expand, moving from the iron grip towards the rest of the grumblings body, who shrieked with fear at the inevitable doom. It was only a matter of time before the magic reached the grubling head and silenced its screams forever before the rest of the ice covered it body.

\n Cynder watched the statue that was the grubling with wide eyes. Had she not seen what had happened, she would have thought that it was a normal ice statue, made by a remarkable artist.

\n Releasing the grubling, the stranger surveyed his work; watching the frozen grubling as if he was appreciating his work. But then, he whipped around his tail that had once again come from underneath the garments, and hit the iced grubling. The statue could not withhold the force and shattered into a million pieces that dispersed around the area.

\n Cynder watched with horror as a nearby shard landed nearby. She looked at it and saw that it held a finger from the grubling.

\n The creature took in his hand the knife that he had dropped during the fight. He then turned to face Gale, who had remained half hiding in the same spot; too afraid to move.

\n Cynder had to act! She did not know if this creature meant harm or not!

\n Making herself appear in full view, she snarled at her new foe in warning. The creature snapped back toward her direction and crouched into a defensive position.

\n “Stay away from him!” she commanded in her hardest voice she could muster.

\n The creature seemed momentarily taken aback when she stepped up. It was expecting and orc or another grubling, not a dragon it seemed. But it lasted for only a moment before he regained its senses and faced her.

\n Cynder was very vexed because she was still not able to see the creatures face.

\n “Don’t you touch him!” she snarled.

\n The creature seemed to hesitate for a few moments as to what to do as both of them started and measured each other up.

\n However, shout were heard in the distance. Cynder’s head, as well as the creature’s, perked up at the yelling.

\n “Cynder? Gale!” Cynder could hear someone calling, and she guessed it was Spyro.

\n That meant that the skirmish was over.

\n “Over here” she yelled back, trying to get their attention.

\n The creature seemed to hesitate even more as she called for her friends. In the end, it did the only sane thing someone would do in that position. Run. He turned and started running away.

\n “Hey! Wait!” Cynder called as she started to follow and pursue this mystery creature. However, a small whimper caught her attention.

\n She gave a quick glance at Gale, who was still unmoving on the same spot. She looked at the retreating figure, then back at Gale. Then, with a sigh, she watched the stranger disappear amidst the vegetation.

\n Once it was gone, she walked back towards Gale. She watched him over as he trembled form head to tail. He having never been in a battle situation like this was completely paralyzed with fear. The fact of kill or be killed also must have struck him hard. Cynder began to wonder of the guardians decision to send him was the correct one.

\n “Hey” she tried to soothe him. “It is over”

\n She placed a paw on his backside and she felt him tense immediately.

\n “You are now safe, Gale” Cynder called gently again.

\n But Gale would not respond… nor move. His claws rooted to the ground, his body visibly shaking, his mouth trembling and his eyes closed tightly.

\n Cynder decided to lie next to him.

\n “Here” she told him as she gave him his lost goggles.

\n Gale slowly took them and brought them to his chest. Much to Cynder’s surprise, he snuggled again her like a hatchling would do with a mother.

\n She hesitated for a moment as she thought what to do. In the end, she used her wings and placed it over him like a protective barrier between the outside world and him.

\n She remained in that position until Spyro, along with another dragon, arrived.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n ‘It was too close’he thought as he fled the area. ‘My presence must remain unknown’

\n He had fled the moment he heard the female call for her friends. If he had got captured, there would be repercussions. Thankfully, she decided not to follow him, since she had to care for the white dragon. Had the white dragon not been there, she would have followed him.

\n In the end, he managed to escape.

\n He had seen some dragons during his life time. He had always watched them for the shadows when he spotted one. This time, it was no different. Sure, she had managed to surprise him with her sneakiness, and he knew that going back would put him in further danger. Turning back, he stealthily moved until he found a good spot to watch from.

\n He watched, silent and hidden in the shadows, as the black dragoness that was comforting the white dragon.

\n They remained in that position for a while until another dragon, a blue one, arrived. He watched intently as the as the blue one called for the rest.

\n And then… it appeared.

\n He barely managed to contain a gasp as he saw a creature so powerful that can change the direction the world goes; a creature of myths… a creature of legends… a creature that has passed down to history… or so he thought.

\n A creature… that was standing right before him.

\n A purple dragon!

\n ‘Impossible!’he thought as he watched the male purple dragon approach the black female one.

\n He watched, his mind numb, as the dragons slowly managed to coax the white dragon to stand up and leave the place.

\n ‘This changes everything!’ he thought as he saw the tail of the purple dragon disappear though the foliage.

\n ***************************++++++++++1+++++++++++++************************

\n Author’s notes:

\n Well, here is it. I hope you liked it.

\n I want to thank Dark Wolf for giving me some ideas for Cynder’s new found powers (the killing stare).

\n Comments, reviews and a friendly chat is always welcome.